The Imprint I Leave Behind

Hi, I am Mathisha Ranathunga, a 24th-batch undergraduate from the Business Faculty, and I am currently a Co-Director of Club Services Avenue for the RI Year 2026–27. But there was once a period when I was simply part of the “Podi 5”, the five youngest members of the Board of Officials, or the first-year undergraduates.

Rewinding back to early 2025, all I knew about Rotaract was that it was a community primarily involved in social service, followed by various other areas of voluntary work. Little did I know that social service was only one part of everything that happens within Rotaract, and that there was a whole world of projects, leadership, fellowship and experiences happening throughout the year. That curiosity was what drew me towards Rotaract in the first place.

My first real glimpse into that world came through Rota Spark, the orientation programme for our batch. I remember being completely fascinated by how much effort had gone into creating the experience. I enjoyed it as an attendee, but somewhere along the way, another thought started growing in my mind: “What if I was an organizer of the event instead of being an attendee? Would I be able to organize a project of this kind one day?”

That question stayed with me.

I started attending more Rotaract events, from general meetings to project activities, and gradually became more interested in what happened behind the scenes. Eventually, I came across applications for the “Podi 5” of the Board. After looking into the available positions, I found myself drawn to the role of Assistant Secretary. I applied, went through the interviews, and was lucky enough to become part of the Board. I still remember how genuinely happy I was when I found out.

What followed was much more than I had expected. Rotaract gave me opportunities to challenge myself, work with people I had barely known before, and take responsibilities for things that initially felt far beyond my comfort zone.

One of the experiences that became particularly meaningful to me was Binara Padura 4.0. For three months, the five of us “podi 5” put everything we had into bringing our vision for the event to life . From spending countless hours at the venue to working with musicians, designers, writers and everyone else involved, the project became much more than just another event on our calendars.

I still remember September 18th, 2025, when the lights finally came on under our “Starry Nights” theme. We had planned food stalls, a moon-surface-inspired photo booth and, most importantly, an atmosphere where everyone could simply come together. Even the rain that arrived right when the event was supposed to begin could not stop the night. When the music eventually started and hundreds of undergraduates were singing, dancing and joining together for the final Baila session, I remember thinking about how different it felt to be on the other side of an event like this. We had gone from imagining how something could be done to actually making it happen. Seeing more than 700 undergraduates become part of that night made all those months of work feel worthwhile.

But there was still one question left unanswered.

Could I really organize something like Rota Spark myself?

The answer came the following year.The same Rota Spark that I had once attended as a curious first-year undergraduate became a project that I was lucky enough to chair. This time, I was not sitting among the attendees wondering how everything had come together. I was on the organizing side, working with a team to bring the experience to life. We successfully completed the event and, to make the moment even more meaningful, welcomed an even greater number of participants than the Rota Spark I had attended the year before.

Looking back, that feels like one of the clearest ways Rotaract has changed me. The question I asked myself at the beginning was whether I could challenge myself enough to organize something like that. Eventually, I got the opportunity to answer it with my actions.

Yes, I could.

And honestly, I am proud of myself for that.

But I don’t think the impact of this journey can be measured only by the projects completed or the numbers recorded. Some of the most valuable things I take away from Rotaract are the people I met along the way, the friendships I built, the late nights, the problems we solved together, the moments we laughed about afterwards, and the people who stood beside me when things did not go according to plan.

It is also special to look around the Board of Officials today and see people who were once part of organizing committees alongside me. People with whom I shared the stress, excitement and satisfaction of bringing projects to life are now here with me, continuing the same journey in different roles. That makes me look forward to what lies ahead even more.

When I first walked into Rotaract, I was simply curious about what happened behind the scenes. Somewhere along the way, I became one of the people behind those scenes.

Perhaps that is my biggest imprint of impact ,not just that I organized an event I once wondered if I could, but that Rotaract gave me the courage to keep asking myself, “What else can I do?” And now, I am looking forward to finding out.